8 cups of water..

oxFaithxo

SO i havea question... they sell the crystal light packs that you put in your bottle of water and that still counts as a cup of water... ok got it

BUT i drink ALOT of warm tea a day... i get hot water put a tea bag in one thing of splenda and yumyum...

SO DOES THE WARM TEA COUNT AS WATER??? i mean i dont see how it is any different than a crystal light thingy


HELP

DancingDreamer

some will tell you yes and some will say no. personally i say yes. its still water. some people think only herbal tea should count because caffeine is a diuretic. but i still count black tea and green tea as well.

clahut

Hi,

I don't count anything with caffeine in it as part of my water total. I try to drink the 8 cups of water on top of any tea or coffee I have.

C

NatalieWinning

I count it if it's caffeine free. Just like I don't count my coffee because it's really causing me to dehydrate.

jesse1117

i count tea as water.

ladyhawk00

Depends on what kind of tea - caffeinated or not? If it's caffeinated, it's NOT the same because caffeine is a diuretic (dehydrates you) so you actually need more water to counteract it.

Nataliethin81

I believe if the tea isn't caffeinated then it can count as water but typically caffeine tends to dehydrate you more so I wouldn't count that as water.

luv2ash

It must be caffeine free to be counted as water. caffeine will dehydrate you so for every cup of caffeine you have, you must have a cup of water in addition to your 8 cups. Just my own rule - LOL. But for real, if your tea has caffeine in it, it does not count because of the dehydrating effect of caffeine.

kmtetour

I drink one bottle of caffeinated water every day and count that. If it's hard for you to drink plain water, count what you need to to start and work towards fewer caffeinated beverages over time.

enmaku

There is a popular urban myth stating that tea and coffee dehydrate you and are worse than drinking nothing at all.

There is a tiny grain of truth to this: they are caffeinated and caffeine is a diuretic, meaning that it stresses your kidneys and makes you have to urinate more, thereby reducing the amount of the water you are able to hold on to.

But it's not that strong of a diuretic, hardly the stuff a doctor would prescribe and especially not in such small doses. The fact remains that despite getting a tiny dose of a weak diuretic in every cup, tea is still almost entirely water and will hydrate you almost the exact amount as a similarly sized glass of water.

Tea also contains polyphenol antioxidants that may help fight heart disease.

Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5281046.stm
http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_health/health1/1-tea-or-water.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50514.php

LadyPersia

Anything with caffeine needs to be replaced with a glass of water. Teas without it you can count as water. Some of the sweetners (artifical or not0 are not good for you so they deplete the value of water. I personally dont count my tea or coffee in my water count. That does not mean it is correct! Always do what is best for you!

tmthorn0927

I have asked the same question about what counts as water. I drink Peppermint Tea which is herbal and caffeine free so I guess I can count that. I was wondering about Crystal Light but see the comments on here about that.

idharris

enmaku - You beat me to that post! I was just about to say exactly the same thing.

backinthenines

Depends on what kind of tea - caffeinated or not? If it's caffeinated, it's NOT the same because caffeine is a diuretic (dehydrates you) so you actually need more water to counteract it.

Absolutely spot on. And if you're exercising up to 20% of performance can be lost from not being appropriately hydrated, so it can matter a lot.

clahut

I have asked the same question about what counts as water. I drink Peppermint Tea which is herbal and caffeine free so I guess I can count that. I was wondering about Crystal Light but see the comments on here about that.

I count my peppermint tea too

Jill219

Water is used by the kidneys to flush out and clean out. If the water has something in it, like a sweetener or even a tea, then the kidneys have to purify the drink instead of the drink purifying the kidney.

I found this web page: very interesting. http://healthrecipes.com/drinking_water.htm

There’s no substitute for water!

Beverages that simply contain water aren’t good enough. juice, soda, tea, coffee etc. counter the positive effects of water; some, in fact, may also be unhealthy. For example, drinks containing caffeine stimulate your adrenal gland and dehydrate and rob your body of important vitamins and minerals. Beverages containing lots of sugars stimulate the pancreas, boosting your insulin levels and taking your body out of its natural fat burning state. Sodas are a quadruple whammy. Colas, in particular, contain caffeine, sugar, sodium and acid that could eat through a dime. Have you ever tried the household remedy to a calcium and lime rusted toilet? Just let a bottle of soda sit in the toilet for a bit and presto — a sparkling toilet! I’m not saying that you should completely eliminate these drinks from your diet. However, you may want to replace them with water whenever possible and at least keep them at a low to moderate level.

Water and Weight Loss

Drinking water may be the most important piece to the weight loss puzzle. Water contains no calories, fat, or cholesterol and is low in sodium. It is nature’s appetite suppressant, and it helps the body to metabolize fat. Current research shows that low water intakes yield an increase in fat deposits. Conversely, a high water intake reduces the amount fat deposits. Without enough water, the kidneys cannot function properly. As a result, some of their workload is pushed off onto the liver, in turn preventing the liver from operating at peak levels.

How does all this tie into weight loss? Because metabolizing fat is a primary function of the liver, and because the liver can’t function at peak levels when taking on the added workload from the kidneys, less body fat is metabolized and more is stored. This leads to either weight gain or reaching a plateau of weight loss. When dieting, we restrict the calories we take in, to some degree. By doing so, we lessen the total amount of water available to our bodies since about 30% of the average person’s water intake comes from the food they eat. This gives us even more reason to raise our water intake.

http://healthrecipes.com/drinking_water.htm

markja

Hi Faith:

I did a lot of time in the Persian Gulf countries when I was in the Air Force. We drank water like it was going out of style! The medics told us that water, soda and tea all counted as water but coffee did not. The reason was that the caffeine content is higher in coffee and it's a diuretic. Emaku's post has the technical details, my experience is just anecdotal.

How does that translate to a temperate climate? I can only say that I'm a pretty serious coffee drinker and I have to drink water too or, I get very thirsty and a dry mouth. I've noticed that when I drink cups of tea, that I don't seem to need as much water.

IMHO, drink up and enjoy your tea! Then, have a glass of water when you want to.

Best,

Markja

ralevin

My question has always been this:
Is there enough caffeine in, say, a coke zero (no calories, but with caffeine) to completely counteract all the water in it? I don't have the label in front of me, but I believe water is the first ingredient listed. It seems like such a small amount of caffeine in comparison.

ladyhawk00

There is a popular urban myth stating that tea and coffee dehydrate you and are worse than drinking nothing at all.

There is a tiny grain of truth to this: they are caffeinated and caffeine is a diuretic, meaning that it stresses your kidneys and makes you have to urinate more, thereby reducing the amount of the water you are able to hold on to.

But it's not that strong of a diuretic, hardly the stuff a doctor would prescribe and especially not in such small doses. The fact remains that despite getting a tiny dose of a weak diuretic in every cup, tea is still almost entirely water and will hydrate you almost the exact amount as a similarly sized glass of water.

Tea also contains polyphenol antioxidants that may help fight heart disease.

Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5281046.stm
http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_health/health1/1-tea-or-water.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50514.php

Quite true, IF the amount is small - 1 or 2 cups of tea. However, higher amounts (debate as to what the "limit" is, but anywhere from 300-500+ mg) does increase fluid loss. Amount of caffeine in coffee or tea depends greatly on how it is made (nestea, or bag, how long steeped, etc.) For many, tea would not be an issue. But for someone who drinks strong tea to the exclusion of plain water, there can certainly be diuretic effects - not a lot, but we're trying to get the body operating at optimum efficiency, right?

ladyhawk00

My question has always been this:
Is there enough caffeine in, say, a coke zero (no calories, but with caffeine) to completely counteract all the water in it? I don't have the label in front of me, but I believe water is the first ingredient listed. It seems like such a small amount of caffeine in comparison.

Not in ONE coke, no. The research points to reaching a "threshhold" of caffeine of at least 300 mg or more/day before the diuretic effect kicks in. Most sodas range from 25-70 mg each.

turion29

I say no!! Coffee and Tea dehydrate you body.. so that water no count.. Good Luck!!

Lexie71

There is plenty of water in the food and beverages you consume every day. Adding extra water (the 8 glasses a day thing) will not hurt and may help you feel more hydrated. Also, drinking any beverage can help you feel full faster. Unfortunately for most people who want to lose weight "hunger" isn't the real issue so feeling full faster doesn't help much.
My opinion, I like water and I drink it but I'm done with the days of forcing and counting my glasses of water. My body knows what it needs and will ask for it. All I need to do is listen and respond.

oxFaithxo

THANKS EVERYONE!

my decision TEA IS WATER

I am still going to start added more water into my drinking habits but at least i feel good knowing i am drinking WAY more then the recommended 8, 8oz cups

ATT949

There is plenty of water in the food and beverages you consume every day. Adding extra water (the 8 glasses a day thing) will not hurt and may help you feel more hydrated. Also, drinking any beverage can help you feel full faster. Unfortunately for most people who want to lose weight "hunger" isn't the real issue so feeling full faster doesn't help much.
My opinion, I like water and I drink it but I'm done with the days of forcing and counting my glasses of water. My body knows what it needs and will ask for it. All I need to do is listen and respond.

I think that's a very sensible approach and it fits into my "skeptic" mentality.

I'm a 6' 1", 271 lb, 55 year old male - does it make sense that I should drink the same amount of water at a 5' 0", 120 lb, 20 year old female?

The answer that most of us would probably respond with is "no".

So, why the "8 glasses a day" mantra?

It turns out that there is some historical basis for it but that reasoning has been lost in the mists of time.

First question is what motives do a source have for their statements?

Companies that sell water (I get a kick out of how rich we Americans are that we actually buy water in bottles but that's another story) will gladly push the idea that you should be drinking water constantly.

Apparently some colleges recommend that students actually carry water with them so they can sip it during the course of the day.

As a soldier and an officer, I was keenly aware of water intake when we were in the desert. I had to order some of my guys to drink canteens full of water every few hours to minimize heat casualties.

Rule of thumb - if you can see your urine, you're low on water.
Rule of thumb - you need to drink one canteen of water every hour.
Rule of thumb - you need to drink 8 glasses of water every day.

Bunk.

I looked into this a few years ago and the articles that I read ranged from "you should drink 8 glasses" to "there's no medical need for 8 glasses of water per day but it's widely acknowledged that…"

Oy.

The only research that I've seen was by Heinz Valtin, MD who is (was) on the staff at Dartmouth. If you google him, you'll see that he was prolific for a while around 2002.

A couple of links:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2002/aug/080802.html

http://bioprin.posterous.com/

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20020711213420data_trunc_sys.shtml

From what I read from the good Doc, it put to rest the issue about urine color (one that I was told throughout my 8 years in the Army) and the "need" for x amount of water per day, regardless of height, weight, and age.

Personally, I have a water bottle from these guys that is great.


http://thinkbabybottles.3dcartstores.com/Insulated-Sports-Bottles-_c_6.html


(I bought mine on Amazon, BTW)

I usually have 600 ML of coffee in the AM and then a 750 ML bottle of water in the afternoon. Thanks to the bottle being insulated, the water stays cold so it's refreshing to drink even when it's been out of the 'fridge for a few hours.



I'd love to read reports of research done in this area - please post your links.